A rockburst is defined as any sudden and violent explosion of rock from its surroundings. The phenomenon results from the static stress exceeding the static strength of the rock, and the result being sudden rockburst of sufficient magnitude, which creates safety and engineering problems in underground mines/tunnels.
A "bump" is defined as a strong seismic shock resulting from a failure or a sudden displacement at some point in the rock surrounding an underground opening.
Rockburst has long been a major problem especially for the mining industry all over the world. Excavation at greater depth is generally coupled with the chance of outburst of rock mass whatever may be the design of opening or precaution taken from the rock mechanics point of view. At the time of rockburst, the impact of dynamic loading of the roofrock is excessively high.
Usually, smaller bursts occur in openings of limited size, such as tunnels, development drifts or shafts, whereas larger bursts are more likely to happen in extensively mined areas.